The Abomination Makes Its Appearance (1)

"...I'm not seeing things, am I?"

Nick's voice trembled in apprehension. To this, Jerome shook his head silently.

"It doesn't seem to be the case," the elder man's rapid response turned Nick's already mortifying expression for the worst.

"Do we have a solid read on our new guest?" this time it was Helen that inquired. All eyes turned towards Jerome for another answer. Perhaps he might know of something. 

But much to everyone's disappointment, he shook his head for a second time. Even with Jerome's vast extensive knowledge and many trips around the world, he could not identify this peculiar creature.

"What do we do now?" asked Gerald worriedly. 

Silence answered. Nobody knew. The situation was barely manageable with the surprise appearance of the Bloodhound Anubis. Then, a new one appeared out of nowhere. Fortunately for them, their hesitation did not cause them their lives. The focus of the battle had now shifted between the wounded Bloodhound Anubis and this mysterious newcomer.

The earlier scene caused by the majestic black monster completely turned the Bloodhound Anubis berserk. It jumped forward without hesitation to pounce on the creature that dared to attack its relative. The hound face stomped the ground furiously and pounded its surroundings menacingly. 

However, such actions did not impress the draconic being. Instead, it looked upon the hound with utter contempt. Though it accepted the challenge and bolted towards the encroaching Anubis. 

Two strong monsters in an imminent clash against one another. This was a rare sight indeed. To Jerome's knowledge, fighting amongst monster species occurred frequently. Such events happened usually due to their animalistic desires such as gaining territory, finding a spouse or hunting for food.

The key takeaway was that this mostly applies towards low class monsters up until either the B-Class or A-Class depending on the species involved. Such was tied to the notion of the higher the class, the more intelligent they become. This was especially important in developing their sense of consideration towards the cost and benefit calculations. 

Fighting against another monster of the same caliber may oftentimes do not serve them any good. Scars, exhaustion and heavy wounds would be all over their body. So, despite obtaining sound victory, who is to say that they might survive the next life or death battle? Many predatory eyes, eager to eliminate the wounded monsters, would undoubtedly seize this opportunity to strike them down.

 Confrontation to the death was avoided by strong and powerful monster in order to maintain their prime condition. However, abnormalities could happen, and this exact case was certainly one of them. 

'What on earth is going in Hastings?' 

A thought of suspicion crossed Jerome's mind. He wondered internally as to what this corporation was up to that caused the appearance of two high-class monsters within a span of a day. But he didn't have the time to dwell on it any further, as the clash between two strong monsters created massive shockwaves. 

BOOOM!

"Kugh!"

"I'll be damned! This newcomer is hella strong! Is it S-Class?"

Gerald moved his body to cover Helen from any unwanted impact while Nick cried out in awe at the impact this fight had. The fight turned up a notch from the one before. Despite being smaller in size compared to the Bloodhound Anubis, the majestic black monster exploded with ire that seemed far surpassing the dreaded Anubis. The way they fought was also different as to when the hunters fought the Bloodhound Anubis. 

The hunters previously fought tactically and used hit-and-run to avoid sustaining major injuries from the hound's deadly attacks. But the way these two monsters fought completely neglects personal safety as the two could be seen wholly intent in tearing each other apart.

At the end of the clash, the Anubis could be seen wincing. The draconic being noticed this and took advantage. A mocking growl came out of its vocal cords and jumped high. Its claws got a hold on the Anubis's snout and twisted it forcefully to the ground. The Bloodhound lost all momentum and reached out to the black monster desperately in order to get rid of it. The impact was tremendous as a loud thumping sound shook the surroundings. 

'No, this is not S-Class, this is―'

From the distance, Jerome grappled with a certain issue that rubbed him off the wrong way. Specifically, regarding how the majestic black monster lacked a crucial thing that all monsters usually had. The draconic beast strangely seemed to lack an Enigma Core. 

Monsters were known to explosively showcase the strength contained within their Enigma Cores during intense combat. This was what helped humanity to scale and categorize each monster species to their designated class. Even the stealthiest monsters were unable to escape this issue the moment they went in for the kill. 

Jerome thought he got it wrong. But then he checked the Bloodhound Anubis, and he realized that the hound's core was perfectly identified! He then asked the other hunters about this issue. 

"Hey, can you sense that thing's core?" Jerome pointed towards the draconic being. 

"Now that you mention it..."

"I sense nothing."

The confirmation from the other hunters to his side caused a chill to run upon Jerome's back. He intended to let his thoughts out, but he was distracted once again by the sheer damage the monsters caused the environment.

In light of this, he quickly reached out for his pockets and looked busy rummaging for something. 

"Nick, do you have those Enigma Replenishment Pills?" 

"We didn't think we'd need them," Nick shook his head. 

Jerome nodded and took out a small pouch from his pocket and threw it to Helen. The woman caught it in surprise and gave a questioning look towards the veteran hunter. To this, Jerome answered in a flat tone. 

"Take them. Now. We're going to need a lot of cover and a strong one at that."

With an "ahh," Helen hurriedly consumed the Enigma Replenishment Pill. 

Though he didn't want this at all, Jerome realized the severity of the situation and urge Helen, their only chance of surviving, to power up. 

The Enigma Replenishment Pill. It's actually a pill that sparks a lot of debate within the hunter community. Amongst the many external sources that hunters consume for combat purposes, the Enigma Replenishment Pill could be considered as more of a life-saving poison, rather than the wonder pill that many pharmaceutical companies advertise them as. 

Its main usage mainly focuses on rapidly replenishing a hunter's depleted Enigma levels during emergencies. If properly utilized, the pill can help a hunter to avoid a life-or-death situation, prolong a fight, or to organize a proper escape and live for another day. 

But the drawbacks could be quite severe depending on the hunter involved. There were three key reasons that prevented many hunters to wholly embrace the pill. One was that this would cause the hunter to experience heavy nausea, dizziness or hallucinations for a certain period of time. This will reduce the combat effectiveness of a hunter especially when the hunter was involved in a long arduous campaign. 

The second reason was that the Enigma Replenishing Pill could cause the hunter to experience a phenomenon called an Enigma Imbalance. The natural order of things does not allow a hunter to artificially replenish his or her Enigma levels scot-free. The human body could not sustain a sudden shock of Enigma increase. So as an after-effect, the hunter may experience unpredictable power surges and a lack of control of Enigma in their bodies. In a combat situation, this could prove fatal. 

This second reason was unpredictable in regard to how it may affect a hunter. Each hunter has a unique body and hence, the drawback could only be seen case-by-case. 

The third reason may be seen as mild by some, but it was not to be underestimated. Consuming an Enigma Replenishment Pill was known to cause emotional instability. Massive mood swings and aggressive tendencies could hamper team chemistry and lead a hunter to make irrational decisions. 

So, with all that in mind, most hunters would at most bring only two or three pills in a given mission with high stakes. That was also the reason why Jerome didn't nitpick on Nick, Helen and Gerald that had not brought some. 

Meanwhile, above them, pieces of the Hastings facility started to fall all over the place. The battle between the two monsters increased in pace. From the distance, Jerome eyed the draconic being that started to gain the upper hand. 

The black monster by this time threw a hasty punch and punctured a hole through the Bloodhound's left bicep as the latter could only whimper. But the word mercy didn't seem to register in the draconic monster's mind. Instead, it let out a roar and impressively pulled the limping arm and threw the whole weight of the hound up towards the ceiling. The Anubis could only helplessly crash unto another hard surface. 

However, that entire debacle seemed to also kickstart a chain of reactions. The whole building gave out and large boulders began to fall one after another. 

Seeing this, Helen immediately took matters into her own hands and created a massive earth barrier to cover the group of hunters from the incoming debris. 

"Brace yourselves!" 

CRAAASSHHHH

Things were just not going their way today.